Bad vibes? Vibrator maker fined for spying on users’ sexual habits

Picking up good vibrations (for excitations) may have come at a privacy cost for users of smart sex toy that can be controlled remotely via a smartphone app.

Standard Innovations, the makers of the We-Vibe range of Bluetooth-enabled vibrators, will pay $3.75m (£3.1m) to settle a class action suit after it was alleged it spied on customers’ usage habits without their consent.

The toys are designed for use with the We-Connect app that enables a partner to control the intensity and pattern of the vibration (in real-time) regardless of the couple’s physical vicinity to each other.

Although SI admitted no wrongdoing, lawyers for claimants say the company collected data pertaining to the frequency of usage and linked that to the email addresses registered to the app.

This enabled the firm “to link the usage information to specific customer accounts,” according to the suit.

Users of the device, who also connected it to the We-Connect app which enables video calling, are entitled to a windfall of up $7,500, under them terms of the settlement.

in a statement, Standard Innovation said (via Guardian): “At Standard Innovation we take customer privacy and data security seriously.

“We have enhanced our privacy notice, increased app security, provided customers more choice in the data they share, and we continue to work with leading privacy and security experts to enhance the app. With this settlement, Standard Innovation can continue to focus on making new, innovative products for our customers.”

Is it surprising that We-Vibe may not have respected the most intimate usage data? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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